The goal in our life
should be, "I want to go to Jannah (Paradise)." It should be written in
bold letters so that it serves a constant reminder for us. Prophet Muhammad
(saw), who is the best of the creation, said," Whoever goes down a path/road searching
for Knowledge, Allah Ta’ala will make easy for him the road to Paradise."
[Saheeh Muslim, Vol.3 Hadith No. 99]
The Prophet (saw) did not
leave behind any money, rather his inheritance was Deeni (Islamic) knowledge. The
high status of knowledge has been established very strongly in Islam through
explicit texts in the Qur'an and the Hadith as well as in the writings of the
scholars of Islam. Allah Ta’ala said in Surat Al-Mujadalah, Ayah 11:
يَرْفَعِ
اللهُ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ
“Allah Ta’ala raises
the ranks of those among you who believe and those who were granted the
knowledge”.
The
Prophet (saw), in his hadith related by at-Tirmizi, said:
فَضْلُ
العالِمِ على العابدِ كفَضْلِي على أدناكُم
“The
virtue of the scholar over the worshiper is like my status over the status of
the lowest Muslim”. The difference in virtues between the Prophet and the
lowest Muslim is extremely great and likewise is the difference between the
scholar and the worshiper.
Knowledge brings a great reward. The one who points
the way to some thing good is like the one who does it. When the knowledgeable
person dies, his reward with Allah Ta’ala does not cease when he dies, rather
it continues to increase so long as people benefit from his knowledge. The
Prophet (saw) said: “When a man dies, all his deeds come to an end except for
three things: an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who
will pray for him”. (Muslim)
Knowledge is the ROAD
to Paradise, and Islam is the vehicle that takes you to this destination of
Paradise. Just like you get in a car
to go from one destination to another, but how? By finding out the directions
to get there, either by seeing a map or asking someone. Similarly, our Qur’an
and Hadeeth are our maps, and our scholars are the people who give the
directions from this map to get to our ultimate destination, Paradise.
In conclusion, we need to
get our "cars" (Islam) fixed and focused on the right direction to
our destination of Paradise. We need to pick up the "maps" (Qur’an
& Sunnah) and ask knowledgeable people (scholars/imams) for directions (road/path)
to Paradise.
